R34 NISMO Skyline GT-R Z-Tune

Based on the R34 Nissan Skyline GTR, the R34 NISMO Skyline GT-R Z-Tune is a special edition limited to 20 units that marked the pinnacle of the NISMO GT-R lineup that also included S-Tune and R-Tune models.

The spiritual successor to the legendary NISMO 400R, the R34 NISMO GT-R Z-Tune celebrated NISMO's continued success in GT racing and was built at the NISMO facility by the same engineers assembling the works racecars. Since the R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R had long run out of production when the NISMO GT-R Z-Tune entered the market in 2005, used R34 GT-R V-Specs with a mileage of no more than 18,000 miles (about 30,000 km) were bought by NISMO, were completely dismantled and the remaining bare chassis reinforced and reassembled from the ground up to Z-Tune spec.

The basic concept for the R34 NISMO Skyline GT-R Z-tune was finalized in 2000 already, when the vehicle made a debut at the NISMO Festival. At that time, the vehicle was won a competition called the “Tuners’ Battle” due to its use of a maximum power of 600 bhp.

This prototype machine focussed on outright performance and was later enhanced to add comfort as a road-going model. In addition to a modified version of the R34 GT-R's RB26DETT engine, the GT-R Z-Tune features air-conditioning, an authentic leather interior with Alcantara for the center of the seats, a Multi-function display (MFD) featuring a data logger, lap time meter, and other functions, and a newly developed steering wheel with airbag.

For about $170,000, the R34 NISMO Skyline GT-R Z-tune offered better performance than many of the supercars at the time of its introduction. With those supercars it had in common its exclusivity and the fact that it was hand-built. One car magazine touted it the car the R34 GT-R should have been from the start. To some people, it was even more than that: The best sports car of its time.

The main features of the exterior are the aerodynamic parts, such as the front bumper, front blister fender, and hood, which are made of CFRP specially developed for automotive applications. These CFRP body parts reduce the weight of the vehicle front. The front bumper effectively guides air to the engine and brakes, and the front blister fenders were widened by 15 mm on one side to accommodate the wider tread and were also given the function of exhausting the air from the engine room from inside the fenders.

The hood has air ducts for obtaining sufficient intake air volume utilizing the ram pressure effect during high-speed driving, and it also features a front under-spoiler to create a lowering force on the front of the vehicle. In this way, all of the aerodynamic parts used on the vehicle were designed with the airflow in mind.